Mindful June 2017

RESEARCH
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The Genius Formula
Dean Simonton, a professor in psychology at
the University of California, Davis, tells us what,
according to his research, makes a creative genius.
Hugh Delehanty: What separates
creative geniuses
from the rest of us?
Dean Simonton: Probably
the two main factors are (a)
tremendous openness to
experience and (b) unusual
motivational persistence. Of
course, they have to be highly
intelligent and well-versed
in their particular domain,
but not necessarily more so
than their far less creative
colleagues.
You’ve talked about creativity
as not being just an
individual phenomenon.
Why is the creator’s social
context so important?
ipated in the Scientific Revolution.
At best, he might have
become a very erudite monk.
Second, the social environment
provides the setting in
which ideas are accepted or
rejected—and that acceptance
or rejection then
determines whether or not
those ideas are even deemed
creative. A “neglected” genius
who remains so will not count
as creative.
How are scientific
geniuses different from
artistic geniuses?
They are similar in that they
both use some version of a
generic process to obtain
their creative ideas. For
example, trial and error is
used in both art and science.
The difference is that scientists
must operate under
stronger constraints than do
artists. For instance, science
First, the social environment
provides the context in which
creative development takes
place. If Isaac Newton were
born in the middle of the Dark
Ages, he couldn’t have particfiction
can be great art, but
science fiction will not be
great science, particularly
if the fiction violates one or
more laws of physics. The
Death Star is impossible in
science, but not in art.
Why is true genius so rare?
Many different genetic and
environmental factors have
to come together in a single
person before a genius can
emerge. Thus, someone
might have all that it takes
from a genetic standpoint—
such as intelligence, openness,
and motivation—but be
born at the wrong place and
wrong time. Like the example
I gave above with respect to
Newton. Or the times may be
ripe for a genius to appear,
but a particular combination
of genetic components are
necessary, and nobody has
them at that time.
What can “small-c”
creators learn from your
discoveries?
Creativity always demands the
willingness to take risks, so
you have to accept the possibility
of failure. Creativity also
requires openness—curiosity,
broad interests, and tolerance
of ambiguity and novelty.
Big-C creators just show
these qualities to a higher
degree, and apply them to a
domain in which they have
acquired sufficient expertise.
What’s the big question
about creativity that
remains to be answered?
As always, the nature–nurture
issue. How exactly do genetic
and environmental factors
interact over time—from the
moment of conception to the
onset of creativity—to generate
a creative genius?
60 mindful June 2017